ModWright Oppo BDP-95 Mods?.....YES!

I am investigating the BDP-95 right now and working on a mod for it. Please check back over the next couple of weeks and I will post more! I just wanted to confirm that WE ARE going to offer a mod for this FINE $1K(?!) Unviersal player!

As you can see, not a lot of room to put any new PCB's inside. As a result, my first focus will be on the stock regulated power supply and the stock analog stage, to see how existing circuitry can be re-engineered for significantly better performance. A tube mod may not be possible as I simply don't know where I would put ONE tube, much less two. But then again, we have been faced with more difficult challenges in the past and made them work.

My first effort however, will be a SS mod. It will be a reasonable price, will not include a clock upgrade, because the ESS SABRE DAC chip in this unit has its own dedicated clock and I do not feel that it will be beneficial for this model.

It is ALREADY the BEST Oppo Universal that I have heard STOCK! I am looking forward to producing a mod for this player that will offer a < $2K Universal option that will be EXCEPTIONAL!

The first step is to see what we can do with the existing unit, without adding our own PCB. There is SOME room, right above the drive, where a PCB of our own could be mounted. This is really the only place that I consider noise free enough, to locate a new analog stage - tube or SS.

For now however, I went over the existing power supply design, analog stage and DAC and digital supplies. The linear regulated supply is good and well done. The analog stage, although op-amp based, is also very good and there are no coupling caps in the signal path.

I have so far removed one op-amp stage from the circuit and implemented our own op-amp free revision. I then took the final op-amp gain/buffer stage and optimized its performance to work with our input stage. This made a big difference in clarity, resolution and overall soundstage. This could be done to all of the MCH and 2CH circuits.

I have a few more things that I want to experiment with and then I will likely wrap up the 'Level I' mod, which will be a high-value and affordable mod.

For those who want a tube mod, I need to see how we can fit a PCB in the space available and what would be required to do so.

OK, I am debating about the initial non-tube mod. I will do a final evaluation on this and the set a price.

As far as the tube mod goes, I blieve it CAN be done and I will get it done. It will, realistically be about a month before the tube mods are complete however. I have to design a new custom PCB to fit this unit. The goal is to provide a tube circuit VERY similar to that offered for the Sony XA-5400 that is also fully balanced: Price = $2000.

I know you're busy but let's get crackin' on the TUBE version of the 95! I'm absolutely loving my 5400 but now I'm in need of an all purpose player for my video system. It'll be used for music on a regular basis so I'm hoping you can do to the Oppo 95 what you've done to the Sony.

I was thinking of pulling the trigger on your modified 83 but I've been dragging my feet cuz I really want a balanced(XLR) player. When the 95 came out, I figured it was just a matter of time before you did a full tube mod(gotta be 6SN7s) and separate power supply but then you started talking about how tight the inside of the 95 is so I decided to put things on hold.

Now that you're convinced you can do the tube mod, I'll be looking forward to regular progress reports. As I said, let's get crackin'!

I am actually going to wire up a 5400ES tube mod board into a 95SE and see how it sounds. The PCB will have to be re-designed to fit the 95 and the circuit may be revised slightly, but this doing this will give me a quick way to evaluate the sonic potential of this unit and compare it to the Sony.

I'm interested in the SS mod - only want so many tube pieces Just curious how you think the 95 performs as a good old two channel CD player (although I'm more excited about the higher res formats). I've recently let player go, as I'm doing computer audio through your Platinum TP. But I wonder how this would be with CDs as occasionally its just more convenient - my personal reference point was a mid of the line Naim CD player.

I can't comment on a mid-line Naim, but I can compare it to our other Reference units here and it is VERY good, especially relative to the price-point and value!

It is exceptional for CD's. There are no capacitors in the signal path - no coupling caps. It has a well done stock analog power supply (linear and regulated) and the chassis is both more rigid and better shielded than previous models.

As a Universal player AND as a CD only player, I think it is exceptional!

Have to wonder if they took some cues from you in designing the 95 stock! Look forward to hearing more. Also wanted to let you know that there are some SS guys out here

This piece is about convenience for me. With a tube primary source and pre, I look forward to just throwing any silver disc that exists in to this baby and sitting back and enjoying with no tinkering. Although I will have to get another pair of liveline connects. Love those things...

Dan, here's an interesting mod idea... if the DAC and analog outputs are that good, could you add digital (S/PDIF or Toslink) INPUTS so we could use it as a DAC for our Squeezeboxes or other (non USB) music servers?